The New 7 Wonders of the World: The Planet's Greatest Manmade Creations

There are lists of both ancient and modern Seven Wonders of the World. Here is a new list of the Seven Wonders of the World, from the perspective of a modern geographer.

All of these Wonders (and traditional lists of the Seven Wonders of the World) only include human-constructed or developed Wonders and thus natural features of the planet are not included. 

Egyptian Pyramids

The Great Pyramid of Giza, built thousands of years ago, is the only ancient Seven Wonders of the World that still remains. The Egyptian pyramids in general are an incredible architectural and technological achievement of ancient society and deserve a spot on this Wonders of the World list.

Space Exploration

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7 Wonders of the Modern World

By Matt Rosenberg

From Sputnik 1 in 1957 to human space flight to lunar landings to space stations and the Space Shuttle, human exploration of space has been an incredible achievement. 

Channel Tunnel

Completed in 1994, the Channel Tunnel (also known as Chunnel), connects the United Kingdom and France by train. It is a 31 mile-long (50 km) tunnel that took seven years to construct with crews working simultaneously from France and from the United Kingdom. Passengers and freight trains pass through the tunnel, easing transportation across (or under) the English Channel.

Israel

The creation of the modern state of Israel is nothing short of a miracle. For nearly 2000 years, the Jewish people were exiled from their home; shortly after the development of the United Nations the international community paved the way for the creation of the Jewish State. In the few decades since 1948, the small (about the size of New Jersey) nation-state has built a modern and democratic country against tremendous odds and many wars against its neighbors just to maintain its right to exist. An incredible achievement for any country, Israel is ranked 23rd on the United Nations' Human Development Index, above developed countries like South Korea, Portugal, and the Czech Republic. 

Telecommunications and Internet

From the telegraph to the telephone to radio and television to satellite communications and to the development of the Internet into a global network of communication, information, and education is most definitely a Wonder of the World. Where would we be without our modern system of communication that enables almost instant communication around the world?

Panama Canal

Built from 1904 to 1914, the Panama Canal was a major achievement in transportation technology, opening not only the Pacific Coast of North America but also the remainder of the Pacific Rim into the world economy, which helped to create the highly competitive countries that exist around the Pacific Rim today.

Increase in Life Expectancy

During Roman times, life expectancy was around 22 to 25 years of age. In 1900, it was not much better - about 30 years of age. Today, life expectancy is more than double that of just over a century ago, about 66 as of this writing. Life expectancy as a Wonder of the World represents all of the public health and medical technology improvements that have accumulated to make life for most, although certainly not all, far more healthy and long lasting than it ever was.